by Glenn | May 6, 2026 | Best practice, Book, Competency, CPD, General
Not because they weren’t smart. Not because they didn’t work hard. But because nobody had ever explained to them what economic development actually is. What is the mission? What is the function? What are the dilemmas you’ll face when public purpose...
by Glenn | May 6, 2026 | Best practice, Book, Competency, CPD, General
I sat in meetings early in my career where decisions were being made and I didn’t know the local backstory. Who had tried what before? Why certain approaches had been abandoned? What are the political sensitivities? What the community actually needed versus what...
by Glenn | May 6, 2026 | Best practice, Book, Competency, CPD, General
𝘔𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘫𝘰𝘣 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘚𝘤𝘰𝘵𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝟣𝟫𝟫𝟢𝘴 I thought I was reasonably well prepared. I had read the research, understood the theories, sat in plenty of meetings with practitioners. What I wasn’t prepared for was the reality...
by Glenn | Feb 13, 2026 | funding, General, Policy, Politics
Political pronouncements don’t shift markets unless they are backed by tangible co-investment, legislation, incentives, changes to tax codes and/or demand stimulus This is the first article in a regular weekly series, where I reflect on a common issue that I see...
by Glenn | Dec 22, 2025 | Best practice, Future challenges, General, Organisational development, Performance, Professional development
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗪𝗮𝗸𝗲-𝗨𝗽 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹: 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗔𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗢𝗯𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲 With trade policy uncertainty gripping markets in 2025, continued inflationary pressures, and the emergence of AI, most economic development teams are operating with strategies that...
by Glenn | Dec 22, 2025 | Future challenges, General, Performance
In this article, I outline the headlines from the latest ONS statistics and business confidence surveys and also reflect on the Autumn budget and what this means for 2026. Key Economic Insights: Global slowdown continues: IMF forecasts growth falling from 3.3% (2024)...
